d_art's Xanga

Metro-Sketch Day #2

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:45:00 GMT

So, last Wednesday, I had another whole day of sketching while riding the Metrorail. It's cheap transportation and you don't waste much time...driving, that is, or with traffic. Only downside may be that it's a bit ghetto and you meet people of all backgrounds. Luckily, I have no problem with that. With that said, I had decided to go over to LA, toward East..and eventually toward Pasadena. My first stop was the Los Angeles City Hall. I've often seen this building in police badges and movies, like Dragnet, but never been inside. So, this time, I decided to check it out.

I really liked this shot. :)

Los Angeles City Hall

There was a metal detector inside, I think to make sure I'm not anyone suspicious. I was mostly there to learn a little something about the City Hall (as a tourist), not to get documents notorized, get married, or anything like that. Well, luckily, there was a big group of elementary kids going in there as a tour group, so I decided to join them (kind of like Ferris Bueller in the art museum). As I was sitting down at the Council Chambers as the tour guide was explaining how laws are passed to the kids, I sketched as I talked a bit to some of the young adults there. I found out that they were art teachers (at LACMA, I think) and they said, "Hey, you should come with us to the top floor--you can sketch the cityscape from there!" So, yes, I was able to get to the top of the building (where the pillars were). I got a grand view of LA. Funny how things all sort of work together.

This is where the laws and ordinances are passed.

L.A. !!!

My next stop of Olvera Street, which is right by the Grand Central Station, and is sort of a historical landmark and a famous Mexican marketplace. It is almost like a Farmers Market, but not really that much produce, but plenty of souvenirs and food. The taquitos I had there were excellent--I rarely get taquitos, but these were very tasty. I walked around the area until I decided I should ride deeper into Pasadena, to see how far I could go on the Metrorail.

Olvera Street... lots of good Taquitos here.

Many cool souvenirs of various colors.

Kiosko at El Pueblo De L.A. Historical Monument.

My final stop was Pasadena City Hall, which had a Roman church-style architecture. I mostly hung around the area, but I didn't really explore the City Hall. I wanted to get back before dark, so I took off for home afterwards. Overall, another good Metro-Sketch Day!

The Pasadena City Hall

Metrorail Station...on the way back..

Non-related, but I was sketching while sitting outside Borders yesteday. I have this ball-point pen (with four colors) that I got from Disneyland, so I got bored and started sketching. Here's what I got.

Halloween Fireworks at Disneyland

Recently, I was at Disneyland (I'm there often to make use of my Annual Pass), and was quite surprised at the new fireworks they've had lately. Pretty cool! Here's a clip I recorded from the event.

Metro Sketch Day.... and Yelp!

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:18:33 GMT

I recently started a new sketch book (I recently finished the previous one). It is, ultimately, my sketch diary. I write down and draw what I observe and format it in the style of comic panels.

Last Friday, I was able to have what I call a "Metro Sketch Day." Generally, what I would do is to buy a Metrorail ticket for the whole day (only $5) and ride to various landmarks and simply sketch on my book. Whatever interesting things I see, I would write and sketch about it. Because I frequently go to many places, including Disneyland (I have annual pass), by the time my book is done, it'll have tons of different sketches of various places, events, people, and situations.

Ultimately, the point of the sketchbook is to keep me drawing frequently and create better sketching habits, and keep my ideas fresh and moving. With that said, here are some photos I took, along with my sketches from my book.

Metro Sketch Day!!!

Pershing Square

Grand Central Market

Bradbury Building, where they filmed Blade Runner (as Sebastion's Apartment).

One of the Metrorail Stations in LA.

Mann Chinese Theater in Hollywood

Sketches being done overlooking Mann Chinese Theater from Baja Fresh.

Pictures from my Sketch Book

The following images were what I drew on my sketchbook. These were all drawn on the spot. As a result, I had to sketch as fast as I could, (especially if it involved moving people). One rule I made when I started this sketchbook (as well as the previous one) is to not use the pencil, or erase or make corrections--thus, all the drawings were done in pen.

Woot!!! Woot!!! I am now YELP Elite '09!!!

Time to start going to them YELP meetings! Sweeeet!!! Free food (hopefully), here I come!

My YELP Site!

Recent reviews by Win K.

What's this?

Monday, September 21, 2009

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:25:10 GMT

Semi-Weekly Photos!

Been busy and much have been going on since the last time I've blogged. First off, one of my older brothers tied the knot about a week ago and I was the best man. A very beautiful outdoor wedding. Unfortunately, I couldn't go around snapping away during much of the ceremony given that I was one of the groomsmen. Here are some photos...but before that....

Hoon and Ellen's Slideshow

And, here's the slideshow I had made for my brother and his fiance's wedding! I used an 80's theme (since they grew up around that time, similar as myself) and I tried to make it as interesting as I could--you'll have to see it to know what I mean by that.

Photos I took before and after the wedding...

We the groomsmen....

I'm Best Man for many reasons. LOL

Bride and Groom...

Hear me roar!

I tried to look like I own the car...but I managed to look more like the valet.

Occasional golfers could be seen before the wedding...

All ready! Good to go!

Aftermath... It's tough work being the Best Man. Gotta relax.

Just this past Saturday: Apparently Giants were part of the Dodger's All-You-Can-Eat Menu.

As for this past Saturday, I went to the Dodgers vs. Giants game at the All-You-Can-Eat Pavilion, where Dodgers pulverized them with a whopping 12-1, with grand slams and multiple home runs. Had them for lunch, pretty much. Afterwards, we headed on over to Patrick and Sunny's (from book club) housewarming party. Lots of fun and tons of food!

Proof that I was at the All-You-Can-Eat Pavilion. Infinite Dodger Dogs, drinks, nachos, popcorn, etc.

You can pretty much pile 'em.

I won this FM radio when I spun some wheel. Neat!

It's a Homer! D'oh! for the Giants!

The crowd goes wild...multiple times.

Some wore some nifty ghetto-hats to keep the sun away.

Housewarming parties... they're always a ton of fun.

It also happened to be Kaitlyn's birthday. She also videotaped my Best Man speech. :]

Good food here!

Sunday: Annual Korean Festival and Bowling for Ethiopia

On Sunday, I visited Young Nak, then headed on over to the Korean Festival. I bumped into some friends from the housewarming party, which was pretty cool. Afterwards, I hung out at 3rd Street Promenade with my buddy John. The 3rd Street is starting to look more run down these days. Afterwards, I went bowling at Shatto 39 in K-town, to help out a fundraiser for Ethiopia team that my brother-in-law was organizing. I went under 100 the first game, and went over 100 on the second game.

Good crowd today..

Foods of all kinds from various vendors...

The Mexican pineapple dance..

Dancing soju bottles...it happens.

Bowling for Ethiopia!

Good Japanese food!

A good end to the night. At least I broke 100 on the second game.

Dodgers and Depeche Mode....

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:32:45 GMT

Weekly Pics!

So, on Monday, my buddy Dan had four free tickets to the Dodgers vs. Cardinals game. It just happened that he suddenly had to be somewhere else, so he gave the tickets to me and my other friend Mark. We had two extra tickets, so I called around my friends in LA to see if anybody might be interested (with late notice). Luckily, Henry (who often evites me to mass sporting events) was able to go with us. Unfortunately, St. Louis beat LA. due to couple of home runs.

On Wednesday, My friend Dan and I went to the Depeche Mode concert at Honda Center. These guys sound just like they did back in the 80's and 90's. I pretty much grew up in the 80's and 90's. They sang many new songs since they had a new album out, but many classics as well. They did sing some of my favorites as "Enjoy the Silence" , "Policy of Truth", and "Personal Jesus" even if they didn't sing "People are People" or "Strange Love." Great concert and the light effects were quite cool.

Here's my clip of Depeche Mode performing Policy of Truth at the Honda Center.

1st Annual Korean BBQ Cook-Off (in LA)

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:32:22 GMT

So, this past Saturday, I was able to partake in the KAC's 1st Annual Korean BBQ Cookoff, showcasing dishes by top Korean BBQ restaurants. Me and a handful of friends met up there at top of the parking structure at The Summit on the corner of Vermont and 6th to a large crowd. When one mentions "Korean BBQ," the word travels pretty quickly. Needless to say, I've heard about it through Facebook, some of my friends heard about it through email, and some heard it through Yelp. The marketing aspect was done quite well and it was to its benefit they used the word "First Annual" which made it that much extra special. I couldn't help but support anything that was Korean and "1st Annual" of anything. Show some representation, if you will. The event consisted of various booths, serving various Korean BBQ dishes, as well as commercial booths, with usually rice and kimchee for approximately $10 or more. When I got there around 2pm, the parking lot was already full (but I was able to score some street parking) and to find the actual the location of the event, one needed no more than to follow the smoke signals from the BBQ, or merely follow your nose to the kalbi (Korean ribs) smell.

First the good stuff. I love the idea of actually having a "Korean BBQ Cook-off," which is an ingenious idea. A cook-off or BBQ of any sort often brings neighbors together and showing a positive image of Korean culture (rather than being a tad distant) is always a plus. I also liked the fact that there was a parking structure, at least nearby, as opposed to everyone parking on the streets, which can be quite a hassle. I also loved the fact that they have various eating contests and competitions and even a stage. It was a nice touch. I liked the friendliness of the booth personnel and I also liked that they had some seating. Some of the food was really good and tender, according to some of my friends. I had went to the booths with the shortest line, which wasn't one of the famous restaurants.

Now, the bad stuff or things that could be improved upon. One of the first things I've noticed when entering was the huge crowd and the lack of space to move around (not helped by surrounding concrete walls). The big problem was that one couldn't see the booths or what they offered, esp. with the lines going all over the place. I'm a pretty tall guy, but it was really hard to see which line was for which. Much of the problem has been how the booths and stage were set up. The stage probably should've been where people were eating, as opposed to where the lines were. I hope next year, they get a wider venue as well.

Negatives aside, though, I think the idea of the cook-off is still great and for being the 1st one ever, I think they have something special here that can grow to something amazing. Therefore, I would love to offer a few suggestions... Every so often, I'd go to the Annual Tustin Chili Cook-off, and what they usually have are that people would buy tickets separately at one booth then use those tickets to buy the food from the booths. This rather decreased the length of line on the food booths itself. Also, I think it'd be easier if one doesn't have to buy the rice and kimchee as a set, but have booths just for the meat and get the other things as a separate thing. The chili cook-off did something like that--they all had cups of chili you can buy at each booth with a ticket...and there were tons of chili to choose from, from different organizations, and booths for other things. Many people would love to have variety in their meat and side-dishes (in one meal), after all. Since people had to usually buy one combo for about $10 or more, most people were reluctant to try the other booths--they already ate too much and they didn't want to spend more either. Just to add, it appears many people went for the ribs. It'd be neat to have some stuff like chadol, dduk bo sam, and so forth. Hmmm... dduk bo sam, with meat placed on top like a Korean taco, sounds very appealing. Forget Kogi truck ,man--I can see it now--a new taco truck called Bo Sam.

It was about 3:30pm when I finished and people were still continuously coming in. I didn't catch the competitions, but I didn't want to be late for my next event. Nevertheless, people came from all over (thanks to word-of-mouth and marketing) and despite the rough edges, this could (one hopes) to be something continuous and great.

Plenty of people ready for some BBQ!

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 06:43:03 GMT

Semi-Weekly Pics

Many good eats, birthdays, OC Fair, Solvang and their awesome Danish pancakes at Paula's, and some tasty pastrami rueben sandwiches at Brent's Deli in Northridge. I can explain events with words, but I'll just post pics. :D

Random Video: Robot Chicken Star Wars clip

Oh, life is so grand. How precious the joy of laughter. This clip is a reminder of it.

Box Theory of Relationships

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:34:43 GMT

So there's this guy named Terry I knew who told me about his Box Theory. Generally, it's based on the idea of self-evaluating before pursuing someone of the opposite sex. Let's say, there's this one bad-tempered, unattractive guy who would only pursue the hottest, richest woman in the planet. A normal person would note that that person is being much pickier than he should be, or delusional... or, to put it another way, he is not willing to live up to the same standard he expects. While it's laudable to pursue goals (the opposite sex) and dreams beyond himself/herself, one shouldn't be surprised (or have a fit) if they don't meet that particular goal (as frequently as one would like) as one looks at oneself. To a passing observer, it would likely make sense why that guy can't get the girl or vice versa (given the usual statistic). However, one can most likely increase those chances if there is actual change in that person, or that person changes the environment around him. Well, that's where, according to Terry, the box theory comes in. So, you ask, what exactly is this box theory? Well, here is the Box Theory diagram:

GRAY
Inside of the box (gray) represents your Potential Relationship Success Surface Area, or the likelihood of finding the person who meets your pickiness level based on your potential within your network of friends. It is like a target when you throw darts. The bigger the target, the more likely you'll hit one. (See Diagram A) It is true you only need to meet that one right person...and you might meet that person through a fluke, or destiny. (This also depending on how one defines destiny, and whether one believes in a divine destiny, which, by the way, one's primarily goal isn't about finding the solemate, but is more of an add-on) In this graph, however, having a large surface area only means you have more pool of people to choose from.

GREEN
The top line of the box (green) is the ceiling, which represents your attractiveness. The more attractive (whether because of looks, power, personality) you are to the opposite sex, the higher the ceiling will be. If you are unattractive, you'd have a lower ceiling. (See Diagram C)

RED
The floor (red) represents how picky (your bare minimum must-haves) you are. If you are only looking for, at the bare minimum, a Jessica Alba, the floor would be high (because she's hot!). So, if you happen to be Napoleon Dynamite (minus the dance moves) and want to date Jessica Alba, you either will have to work on yourself (dance like a mofo) to be more attractive (exercise, education, or psychotherapy), or lower your pickiness (date the girl next door), in order to increase your Potential Relationship Surface Area (See Diagram B). Now, this is assuming that Jessica Alba happens to be a mentally healthy individual. There are hot women out there with lots of self-hate issues and serious mental problems who may go after whoever. I'm not talking about those women.

BLUE
If you're neither willing to budge on the ceiling or the floor, you can still increase your success area, however, by getting to know more and more people (which also means you're willing to meet people with different tastes, or a Trekkie willing to date outside the Trekkie pool, or God forbid, a Star Wars fan). The side walls of the box (blue) represents your network of friends, acquaintences, general people you are exposed to. The wider the walls become, more people you know. More people you know, more chances there are you will find someone you like and vice versa. (See Diagram D) You can be the most attractive girl or guy, but if you live in a cave, no one will get to know you. Thus, having narrow walls decreases your success rate. One should note, people are generally attracted to popular, or well-known people. Part of it is because of the "trust" factor. People may think popularity is a bad a thing (it can be when misused), but there is an inner logic behind it.

So, in the end, to reach maximum potential, you want to know a lot of people, not be overly picky, and work on yourself to be more attractive. I personally think it's perfectly fine to be picky as long as you're realistic about your potential and willing to work on it. Some, however, may have an overly bad opinion about oneself. Now, that kind of thing is more of an inner issue, so you best take care of it, maybe get counseling, start giving to the poor (or something), before dating. (Read the part about Jessica Alba and self-hate issues above)

Now, that was the Box Theory. Now using that, I suppose we can turn this into an equation--although it's not part of the theory, it's still amusing.

If X = your attractiveness to the opposite sex,
Y = your pickiness level,
N = your network,
Z = your success potential,

Then,

(X - Y) * N = Z

So, generally, what you want to do is to increase your Z, or your Success Potential. You'll notice that, looking at the equation, if you're so much less attractive than your pickiness level (which in turn becomes a negative number), and you happen to have A LOT of friends (N), then Z will be a high negative value. In other words, everyone will know how picky and unattractive you are, thus not only decreasing your chances, but people will even avoid you (thus the negative Z variable). In other words, you'll get a bad rep. Street cred's down the drain, homey.

EDIT: This is a self-improvement model, not a rule of dating. It is not meant to compare yourself to anybody, but to compare yourself to your bare minimum standard. Fact is, one person will always be better in some way than the other person. It's meant for guys who complain that there aren't good ones out there and older women who complain there aren't good ones out there. Either they need to improve, be less picky, and/or meet more people. Often though, what people do instead is they get depressed, starts eating more, up their pickiness even higher, and stay in their house all day. (We love to self-sabotage ourselves, don't we?)

Now, some may get this idea that I know a lot about relationships, or I date a lot. Haha! Nope, not true at all! I am merely passing the knowledge around. Heh heh. I'll will admit that I tend to go with the idea that "you know a lot when you realize you know very little."

Forest Lawn, Architecture, and Tripe

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:19:07 GMT

Weekly Pics!

Well, over the Sunday weekend, my friend Alex took some friends from Young Nak, myself, my brother and his fiance (who is Alex's sister) to Forest Lawn Museum in Glendale. One would normally think we're actually going to see a cemetery. Well, there is a cemetery there, but really, it's actually a museum of various kinds of art, mostly historical, and in the case of Michelangello's David, exact replicas of actual historical work. The museum also housed the world's largest religious painting on canvas ever created, called Crucifixtion, which was an amazing 18th century piece of work with lots of detail and compositionally and narratively beautiful. It is interesting that the painting doesn't show Jesus during the crucifixtion, but the moment right before he is about to be crucified. In the painting, he is looking into the sky, which has begun to slowly get dark. In different sections of the paintings, you see all the different figures from the New Testament standing in different areas. What's really fascinating about it is the realistic depiction of the actual place in Jerusalem shown in a panoramic view, so you can get a glimpse of the cities, the garden, and a mountain, where various actions took place. I would have to say it's one of the most impressive works I've seen. There were other works that were more modern as well, such as Marc Davis, who worked for Walt Disney. Also, some interesting bronze statues of the past. Overall, it was quite a good experience and certainly worth coming back. The day was rather hot, though. Afterwards, some of us went to eat dinner at Gil Mok in LA, which had cold noodles. I had gom-tong (beef soup) instead, but they had put too much tripe in it, and not enough actual meat. Cold noodle next time.

Hot day outside. Good thing for the trees!

This place houses the stainglass version of Leonardo's "The Last Supper"

You can get a great view of Glendale from here...

Four scores and seven minutes ago... (guess the movie!)

I think this was called Fountain of Life...

Marc Davis used to work for Mr. Walt Disney...

This painting stood out for me...

Stain-glass windows of old..

I think this was called Maze of Life. If you go through the maze (thinking about your life), you come out refreshed.

Cold noodles at Gil-mok in LA. Good BBQ here.

Too much tripe in gom-tong = too much trip to bathroom.

My Mansion in Progress....

So, here is once again, my mansion I had been working on... it is still in progress, but this time out, it does a bit of a camera circling around it to get a better understanding of the space.

Random Video: Spider (9 min. short)

Yikes! I caught this short on Youtube Screening Room and I thought it was pretty crazy. Some strong work out there.

Synopsis: Jack and Jill are always hurting each others feelings. But like Mum said, Its all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Directed by Nash Edgerton.

Bonfiring, Eating, and CGing...

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:22:19 GMT

Weekly Pics!

Saturday!

Some pics from my Fourth of July Weekend... It was good, it was fun, and I have an extra appreciation for smores. Young Nak Ascent people invited me for some bonfiring at Hutnington Beach, then eating, then watching some fireworks. The beach was tons crowded, but was able to find some parking, luckily. I went with my bro, his fiance, her brother, and a friend of theirs. Couple of Sarang people were there as well. Even on Summers like these, it does still get chilly at night, so bonfires are a great thing. I think there are couple more bonfires that'll be coming up soon.

Tuesday!

Sue-Min (aka. SumoSue) was taking off for a humanitarian trip to Africa for six months, so she invited bunch of her Sarang friends and I for a cool farewell dinner at Ggool Dweji (aka. Honey Pig) in Buena Park and bowling at Linbrook Bowling Alley. Ggool Dweji was pretty amazing, particularly atmosphere-wise, like those hole-in-the-wall corner restaurants in small town Korea. They had amazing sam gyup sal (aka. pork bellies) there. Afterwards, we went bowling, where more people met up. I broke a hundred in both sets, which is always a good thing (for me).

Digital Clips!

Dragon flight test w/ rotation camera

Now, you can get a better idea of the dimension of the dragon. I will be adding some environments around him soon...

My Dancing Pocket Monster

So, I got my purple pocket monster to tap dance... Yes, I had to look at some tap dancing instructional videos to animate it, because... I don't really tap dance. Eventually on my reel, I'll likely add a river dance music to accompany it. (Admittedly, this is pretty much how I look after couple glasses of wine)

Happy Fourth of July!

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:28:01 GMT

Yep, Independence Day! Let the fireworks out! (Only time you get to do it, anyways...unless, you're at Disneyland)

Oh dang... I have Disneyland annual pass and all of July is a blackout date! Booooo... Celebrated my friend Soo's birthday there last week. Fireworks were cool and I saw Fantasmic! which wasn't particularly that new compared to the old one. Old one had an animatronic dragon, which was cool.

Last weekend, I had some of the most excellent Italian vegetarian sandwiches at my friend Nick and Elly's place. Nothing groundbreaking but the tomatoes were so fresh and flavorful. Strange how small things just stand out sometimes.

Digital Pics! Yooooooo Joe!

Happy Fourth of July! This one is titled, Scarlet, because, well, it's Scarlet from G.I. Joe. I made this one for a ImagineFX weekly CG contest.

Red Dragon flight test!

So, I've finally got around to animating this little guy.. and here, he is now flapping his wings. Not much now, but once I have more surrounding details, and flames and such, it should look even better.